EA Struggles With the Perception That 'We're Just a Bunch of Bad Guys'

I do give a damn 'bout my bad reputation.

EA’s vice president of strategic growth has revealed how he still struggles with a public perception that EA is “just a bunch of bad guys”, and how he hopes that EA Originals - the publisher’s label for smaller, indie-like games - will help the company reconnect with new talent.

Talking to GamesIndustry.biz, EA’s Matt Bilbey said “25 years at EA and I still struggle with the external perception that we’re just a bunch of bad guys. We love making and playing games. Unfortunately, when we make mistakes on games, the world knows about it because it’s of a size and scale.”

While EA’s numerous mistakes over the decades has soured public perception of the company, the publisher is doing something notable with its EA Originals label. This new side of the business helps indie games to markets, and the developers get to keep all of the profits - EA simply takes enough money to cover the operating costs. Bibley hopes that the EA Originals label will help EA stay in touch with the industry’s fresh creatives.

“As we got bigger, there is the concern that we had become disconnected from new talent coming through," he says. "EA Originals is our opportunity to connect with that talent and those smaller ideas.”

While EA Originals provide benefit and wide recognition for the indie companies developing the games, Bilbey notes that there is a self-interest side of EA’s push into smaller games. "EA Originals are also games that we don't make in the bigger part of EA, or don't make enough of. So while there was a philanthropic part to it, selfishly it was the way for us to connect to talent on smaller ideas,” he said.

“When you are in a company and have had successes and mistakes around live service microtransactions, free-to-play, what geographies, what partners to work with, what animation engines... it actually feels good for our teams to sit with EA Original developers and you can actually give real advice. It genuinely makes you feel good. It's advice to help them not make the same mistakes."

EA Originals got a big showing at E3 2019, where Lost in Random, RustHeart, and a new game from A Way Out’s Hazelight Studios was announced. Previously, EA Originals has released games such as Fe and Unravel, while the labels next game, Sea of Solitude, launches this week.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter.